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The Nag Hammadi Library

The Apocryphon of John(The Secret Book of John -- The Secret Revelation of
Jon)

Short Version
Berlin Codex (BG 8502,2) & Nag Hammadi Codex III,1

Translated
by Michael Waldstein and Frederik Wisse
Edited and Formatted by Lance Owens

The Apocryphon of
John is commonly referenced by two other names: The Secret Book of
John and The Secret Revelation of John, each depending
upon how the word "Apocryphon" is translated. The two surviving Coptic
manuscripts of the shorter version of TheApocryphon of
John -- found in the Berlin Codex and Nag Hammadi Library Codex III --
are very similar, but they are not identical. In this edition prepared for
the Gnostic Society Library both manuscripts have been edited
together. Where the reading of NHL Codex III,1 varies from the Berlin
Codex BG 8502,2, the variant version of the passages from Codex III are
shown with blue text enclosed in
brackets {}.

Sectional
numbering has been added following the system proposed by Karen King --
for details, see Karen King, The Secret Revelation of John.
In Dr. King's system, sectional numbers are based on the texts from all
four existing manuscripts. In the two "Short Version" manuscripts
combined here, Berlin Codex and NHC III, some sections found in the "Long
Version" are absent. For example, the introductory text in
section 1 appears only in the long versions, and not in the short version.
Thus the short version manuscripts begins with section 2.

This internet
resource has been edited and formatted by Lance Owens and is based on the
Waldstein and Wisse translations: Michael Waldstein and Frederik
Wisse, The Apocryphon of John: Synopsis of Nag Hammadi Codices
II,1;III,1; And IV,1 With BG 8502,2 (Nag Hammadi and Manichaean
Studies), Brill Academic Pub, 1995. Also see: Karen King,
The Secret Revelation of John , Harvard University Press, 2006.

For purposes of
academic citation, please always refer to the print editions of the texts.

2 Now it happened
one day when John the brother of James, the sons of Zebedee, was going up
to the temple, a Pharisee named Arimanios approached him. And he said to
him, "Where is your teacher, the one whom you used to follow?"

He said to him, "He
returned to the place from which he came." The Pharisee said to me, "This
Nazorene deceived you (pl.) with error. [He filled [your (pl.) ears with
lies], and he shut [your hearts]. He turned you (pl.) [from] the
traditions of your fathers." When I heard these things, I turned from the
temple to the mountain which was a place of desert. And I grieved greatly
in my heart, saying, "How was the Savior appointed? Why was he sent into
the world by his father who sent him? Who is his father? And of what sort
is that aeon to which we will go? He told us that the aeon is modeled on
that indestructible aeon, but he did not teach us about what sort the
latter is."

3 Just then,
while I was thinking these things, the heavens opened, and the whole
creation below the heaven was illuminated with light [below] heaven. And
the [whole] world [quak]ed.

I was afraid an[d I
watch]ed. And behold a child [appeared to] me. Then [he changed himself]
into the form of an old man [who had flight existing within him. [Although
I was watch]ing him, I did not [understand this wonder, whether it is a
[likeness] having numerous forms [in the flight—for its forms [appea]red
through each oth[er—or] if it is one [likeness th]at has three aspects.

[He sa]id [to me],
"John, wh[y] are you doubting and [fearful]? For you are not a stranger
[to this like]ness. Do not be faint[hearted]! I am the one who dwells with
[you (pl.) al]ways. I am the [Father.] I am the Mother. [I] am [the S] on.
I am the one who exists for ever, undefil[ed and un]mixed.

N[ow I have come] to
instruct you [about what] exists and what [has come] into being and what
mu[st] come into being, so that you will [understand] the things which are
invisible a[nd those which] are visible, and to t[each you] about the
perfe[ct Human].

Now then lift up your
[face to] me and listen. [Receive the things that I] will tell you toda[y
so that] you yourself will tell the[m to your fel]low spirits who are
[from] the im[mov]able generation [of the] perfect Human."

4 And [I asked]
to know.

He said to me, "[The
Unit]y is a monarchy [with nothing] ruling over it. [It is] the Gold and]
Father of the All, the [h]oly, the invisible, [who ex]ists over the All,
the one who [. . .] incorruption, [exist­ing as] pure light, into which it
is not possible for any light of the eye to gaze.

It is the Spirit.

It is not appropriate to
think about It as god or that It is something similar. For It surpasses
divinity. It is a dominion having nothing to rule over It. For there is
nothing existing before It nor does It have need of them.

It does not need life.
For It is eternal. It does not need anything. For It cannot be made
perfect as though It were deficient and only required perfecting. Rather
It is always totally perfect.

It is light. It cannot
be limited because there is nothing before It to limit It. It is
inscrutable for there is no one before It to scrutinize It.

It is immeasurable
because there is no other to measure It as though (anything) exists before
It. It is invisible because there is no one to see It. (It is) an eternity
existing forever. (It is) ineffable because
no one has comprehended It in order to speak about It. (It is) the one
whose name cannot be spoken because no one exists before It to name It.

It is the immeasurable light, the pure one
who is holy and unpolluted, the ineffable one who is incorruptibly
perfect. It is neither perfection nor blessedness nor divinity, but It is
a thing far superior to these. It is not boundless nor is It limited, but
It is a thing far superior to these.

For It is neither corporeal nor incorporeal.
It is neither large nor small. It is not a quantity. It is not a creature.
Neither is it possible for anyone to know It. It is not something
pertaining to the All which exists, rather It is a thing which is better
than these—not as being superior (to others as though It is comparable to
them) but as that which belongs to Itself.

It does not participate in an aeon (as a
constitutive part of it). Time does not exist with regard to It. For
whoever participates in an aeon would have to have had it prepared for It
by others. And time was not delimited for It since It does not receive
from another who sets limits. And It does not need (anything).

Nothing from the All exists before It.

All It asks for is Itself alone within the perfect light. It will
contemplate the unmixed light, the immeasurable vastness.

(It is) the eternity who gives eternalness, the light who gives light, the
life who gives life, the blessed one who gives blessedness, the
understanding which gives understanding, the
ever good one who gives good, the one who does good-not such that It
possesses but such that It gives—the mercy which gives mercy, the grace
which gives grace.

5
What shall I say to you about the immeasurable light?

What is incomprehensible (can only be expressed as) the likeness of the
light. In this manner, I will speak to you as far as I will be able to
know It—for who could know It infinitely?

His aeon is indestructible,
being in a state of tranquility, at rest in silence. (It is) the one that
exists before the All, for It is the head of all the aeons {(It
is) the head of all the aeons because its goodness provides for
all the aeons} —if another thing does exist with It.

For none of those among us understood the things which belong to the
immeasurable one except the one who appeared in It. It is he who told
these things to us.

(It is) the one who knows Itself alone in the light-water that surrounds
It, which is the spring of living water, the light which is full of
purity. The spring of the Spirit flowed from the living water of the light
and it abundantly supplied all the aeons and the worlds. {and
the spring of the Spirit from which the [living] water flows. It
abundantly supplied all the aeons and their worlds.}In every way It perceived Its own image,
seeing It in the pure light-water which surrounds It.

And Its thinking become a thing. She appeared. She stood in Its presence
in the brilliance of the light; she is the power which is before the All.
It is she who appeared, she who is the perfect Pronoia of the All, the
light, the likeness of the light, the image of the Invisible, she who is
the perfect power, Barbelo, the perfect aeon of the glory.

She glorifies It because she appeared through It and she perceived It.
{the
glory who glorifies It because she appeared through] It. And she
glorified [It].} She is the
primal Thought (Protennoia), Its image.

She became a primal Human, which is the virginal Spirit, the triple male,
the one belonging to the triple power, the triple na[med], the triple
begotten one, the androgynous aeon which does not grow old, who came from
Its Pronoia. {[the
triple male, the triple] hymned, the [triple named, the tri]ple
po[wer, the] androgynous aeon which does not grow o]ld, [which ca]me forth
fr[om Its Pronoia].}

6 And Barbelo
requested It to give to him Foreknowledge. It assented. When It had
assented, Foreknowledge appeared. He stood with Thought, who is Pronoia.

She glorified the Invisible
one and the perfect power, Barbelo, for they came into being through her.

Again, this power requested (It) to give her
Incorruption. And It assented. When It had assented, Incorruption appeared
and she stood with Thought and Foreknowledge, glorifying the Invisible one
and Barbelo since she had come into being because of her.
{They
glorified the invisible
Spirit and Barbelon for they had come into being because of her.}

She requested (It) to give her Eternal Life. It assented. When It had
assented, Eternal Life appeared. And they stood {And
he stood}, glorifying It and
Barbelo for they had come into being because of her from the revelation of
the invisible Spirit.

This is the pentad of the
Aeons of the Father, who is the primal Human, the image of the Invisible
one, namely: Barbelo, Thought, Foreknowledge, Incorruptibility, and
Eternal Life. This is the androgynous pentad which is the decad of the
Aeons, the Father from the unbegotten Father. {This
is the androgynous pentad which is the decad of the Aeons of the Father.}

7 Barbelo gazed intently into It, the
pure light. She turned herself toward It. She gave birth to a spark of
blessed light, but it was not equal to her in greatness. {She
gave birth to a spark of light resembling the blessed light
} This is the Only-begotten who appeared from the Father, the divine
Autogenes, the first-born son of the All of the Spirit of pure light.

The invisible Spirit rejoiced over the light which had come into being,
the one who was the first to appear from the primal power, which is Its
Pronoia, Barbelo. And It anointed him with Its goodness/ Christhood so
that he became perfect. There was no lack of good/ Christ within him
because he was anointed in the invisible Spirit's goodness/Christhood
which It poured out for him. And he received the anointing through the
virgi[nal Spirit. He stood in [Its pre]sence, glorying the invisible
Spirit and the perfect Pronoi[a], from whom he had appeared. {He
stood in Its presence, glorying the invisible Spirit and the one
because of whom he had appeared.}

And he asked to be given one single thing, Mind. {And
he asked to be given a fellow worker, Mind.} The invisible
Spirit assented. Mind appeared. He stood with Christ, glorifying him and
Barbelo, for all these had come into being in silence and thought.

The invisible Spirit willed to perform a work. {The
invisible Spirit willed to perform a work through the Word.}
Its will became a work. He appeared. He
stood with Mind and Light, glorifying It. The Word followed the Will. For
through the Word, Christ created everything. The divine Autogenes, Eternal
Life and Will, Mind and Foreknowledge stood, glorifying the invisible
Spirit and Barbelo since they had come into being through her.

Through the Spirit, he perfected the divine eternal Autogenes, the son of
Barbelo, so that he stood before the eternal virginal invisible Spirit.
{The
great invisible Spirit perfected the divine Autogenes, the son of
Barbelon} It was the divine Autogenes
Christ that It honored with great honor, namely he who had come into being
from Its primal Ennoia. That one is the one whom the invisible Spirit
appointed as god over the All, the true god. It gave to him all authority
and It caused the truth which is in It to be subject to him in order that
he might know the All.

(He is) that one whose name they will speak among those who are worthy of
it.

8
For from the light, which is the Christ, and Immortality, through the
divine [Spirit], {For from the
light, which is the Christ, and immortality, through the gift of the
invisible Spirit} the four great Lights appeared from the
divine Autogenes so that they might stand before him.

The three (are): Will [and] Thought and Life. And the four are: Grace,
Understanding, Perception, and Prudence. Grace (belongs to) the primal
Light Harmozel {Armozel},
who is the angel of light in the primal Aeon; with him are three Aeons:
Grace, Truth, Form. The second Light Oroiael is the one he placed over the
second Aeon; with him are three Aeons: Pronoia, Perception, Memory The
third Light Daveithe is the one he placed over the third Aeon; with him
are three Aeons: Understanding, Lov[e, Likeness]. The fourth Light Eleleth
is the one he placed over the fourth Aeon; with him are three Aeons:
Perfection, Peace, Wisdom. These are the four Lights which stand before
the divine Autogenetor, the twelve Aeons which are placed beside the
Child, the great Autogenetor Christ, through the approval of the divine
invisible Spirit. {These
are the four Lights which stand before the divine Autogenes, the twelve
Aeons which stand before the Child through the gift and approval of the
great Autogenetor Christ, through the gift and the approval of
the invisible Spirit.} The twelve
Aeons belong to the Son of Autogenetos.

9
All things were firmly founded through the will of the holy Spirit,
through Autogenes. And from the first Understanding and the perfect Mind,
through God, through the approval of the great invisible Spirit and the
approval of Autogenes, It named the true perfect Human, the primal
revelation, Adam. {From
the first Understanding and the perfect Mind through the gift and
the approval of the great invisible Spirit in the presence of
Autogenes, the perfect, true, holy Human, the first who appeared—he
was called Adamas.}

It set him over the primal Aeon beside the great divine Autogenetor
Christ, being the primal Aeon of Harmozel and Its powers with him.

And the invisible Spirit gave him an unconquerable intellectual power. {And
the Invisible one gave him an unconquerable intellectual power.}
He said, 'I glorify and I praise the
invisible Spirit for it is because of you that all things came into being
and all things (are) in you. And I praise you and Autogenes and the three
Aeons: the Father and the Mother and the Child, the perfect power.'
{"I praise you and Autogenes and
the aeon the triad: the Father and the Mother and the Child, the
perfect power."}

And It placed his Child
Seth over the second Light Oroiael. {And his son Seth was placed in the
second aeon with the second light Oroiael.}

And in the third Aeon was placed the seed of
Seth, the souls of the saints who dwell forever in the third Light
Daveithe. {And in the third
Aeon was placed the seed of Seth, the souls of the saints who dwell in
the aeon with the third Light Daveithe.}

And in the fourth Aeon were placed the souls who did understand their
perfection yet they did not repent immediately but they persisted a while.
In the end, however, they repented. They will remain in the fourth Light
Eleleth, the one who yoked them to himself, glorifying the invisible
Spirit. {having
been gathered to that place, glorifying the invisible Spirit}.

10
Our fellow sister, Sophia, being an Aeon, thought a thought from within
herself and in the thought of the Spirit and the Foreknowledge.

She freely willed the likeness to appear from within herself although the
Spirit had not agreed with her nor had It consented nor had her partner
approved, the male virginal Spirit. {She
freely willed the likeness to appear from within herself. Her thought
was not idle and her product came forth imperfect, for it was not
patterned in her form for she had made it without her partner,
(and) it was not patterned in the likeness of the Mother.}
But she did not find her concord. As she was
about to acquiesce without the approval of the Spirit or the understanding
of her own concord, she swelled out {she
was complete}.

Because of the audacity within her, her thought was not able to be idle
and her product came forth, being imperfect, ugly in his appearance,
because she had made it without her partner {and
her product came forth, being imperfect, not being formed in her
form, for she had made him without her partner}. And he did not
resemble the likeness of the Mother, for he had another form. As she
deliberated, she saw that he had become modeled after a different
likeness, "having the face of a serpent and the face of a lion. His eyes
were shining with fire. She cast him away from her outside of those places
so that none of the immortals might see him, because she had given birth
to him in ignorance.

She united a luminous cloud with him. She placed a throne in the midst of
the cloud so that no one might see him except the holy Spirit who is
called Life, the mother of everyone {except
the holy Spirit who is called the Mother of all the living}.
And she named him Yaldabaoth. He is the Chief Ruler, the one who attained
a great power from the Mother.

11
He removed himself from her. He abandoned the place in which he had been
born. {He
moved fromplace to place away from the place in which he
had been born.} He seized another
place. He created for himself an aeon, which blazes with a shining fire,
in which he now dwells. {He
created for himself an aeon of fiery, luminous flame, in which he
now dwells.}

And he copulated with Madness, who is in him {He
copulated with Ignorance, who is in him}.
He begat authorities who are under him, the twelve angels, each one of
them to his own aeon following the model of the immortal Aeons. And he
created for each one of them seven angels each and for the angels three
powers-these are all under him, 360 angelic beings with his third power,
following the likeness of the primal model which is prior to him.

Now when the authorities appeared from the
chief begetter, the chief ruler of the darkness, these were their names
from the ignorance of he who had begotten them: The first is Yaoth. The
second is Hermas, who is the eye of the fire. {The
authorities who appeared from the chief begetter, the Chief Ruler of the
darkness and ignorance, together with the authorities were in
ignorance of the one who had begotten them. These are their names: the
first is Haoth. The second is Harmas, who is the eye of the fire.}
The third is Galila. The fourth is Yobel. The fifth is Adonaios. The sixth
is Sabaoth. The seventh is Kainan and Kae, who is named Cain, who is the
sun. The eighth is Abiressine. The ninth is Yobel. The tenth is
Harmoupiael. {The seventh
is Kainan Kasin, who is called the sun. The eighth is
Abiressia. The ninth is Yobel. The tenth is Armoupiael.}
The eleventh is Adonin. The twelfth is
Belias. They all have double names: one set of names from desire and
wrath, but yet other names which are given to them by the glory of heaven.
The (latter) are the ones which reveal their nature in truth.

Saklas called them by the names which are
from illusion and their power. {Saklas
called them by the names which are from illusion and their powers.}
On the one hand, through (the names given by
the glory of heaven), they are reproved and weakened, like the seasons,
while on the other hand, through those (of Saklas) they grow strengthened
and increase. And he commanded that seven kings should rule over the
heavens and five over the chaos of Hades. {And
he commanded that seven should rule over the heavens and five over
the chaos of Hades.}

12
The names of the glories who are over the seven heavens are these: The
first is Iaoth, the lion-faced {The
first is Aoth, the lion-faced}. The second is Eloaios, the
donkey-faced. The third is Astaphaios, the hyena-faced. The fourth is Iao,
the snake-faced with seven heads {The
fourth is Yaw, the serpent-faced and lion-faced}. The
fifth is Adonaios, the serpent-faced. The sixth is Adoni the monkey-faced
{The sixth is Adonin, the
monkey-faced. The seventh is Sabbadaios, whose face is a shining
fire}. The seventh is Sabbataios, whose face is a flame of fire
that shines. This is the hebdomad of the week. These are those who rule
the world. Yaldabaoth-Saklas (is) the one whose forms are without number
such that he can appear with any face at will.

13 He allotted them
(portions) out of his own fire, but he did not give them any of his power
from the pure light of the power which he had drawn from the Mother.
Because of the glory which is in him from the power of the light of the
Mother, he became Christ to them. Because of that, he made them call him
God, {Because of the glory which
is in him from the power of the light of the Mother, he was lord
over them. Because of this, he called him­self God over them}
thus being disobedient to the reality from which he had come into being.

And he joined with the authorities. When he spoke, the seven powers came
into being, and he named them. {And
he joined the powers with the authorities. When he spoke, they came to be.}
Beginning with the highest, he placed
authorities (as follows): The first, then, is Pronoia with the first
(authority) Yaoth. The second is Divinity with the second one Eloaios. The
third is Goodness/Christhood with the third one Astaphoios. The fourth is
Fire with the fourth one Yao. The fifth is Kingship
with the fifth one Sabaoth. The sixth is Understanding with the sixth one
Ad[oni. The] seven[th] is Sophia [wi]th the seventh one Sabbataios. These
are the ones who have a firmament corresponding to each heaven and aeon
according to the
likeness of the Aeon which exists from the beginning, in the model of the
indestructible ones.

14 He saw the
creation below him and the multitude of angels which are below him who
came into being from him. And he said to them, `I am a jealous God;
without me there is nothing.' —already indicating to the angels who are
below him that another God does exist. For if there were no other (god)
over him, of whom would he be jealous? Then the Mother began to move to
and fro as she understood her deficiency. It was her own perfection that
had caused her to be blamed, because her partner had not been in concord
with her."

But I said, "Christ, what does it mean `to
move to and fro?'

He smiled and said, "You think it happened like Moses said 'upon the
water.' But in fact, she saw the evil and rebellion which would happen
through her offspring. She repented, and as she was coming and going in
the ignorant darkness, she began to be ashamed and she did not dare to
return but she continued coming and going. Now her coming and going is 'to
move to and fro.'

Now when the Arrogant one got a power from the Mother, he was ignorant of
many beings who were superior to his Mother, for he said about his Mother
that she alone existed. He saw the great multitude of angels that he had
created. He was mighty over them. And when the Mother understood that the
untimely birth of the darkness was not perfect because her partner had not
been in concord with her, she repented. She wept great tears.

And It heard the entreaty of her repentance and the brothers prayed for
her. The holy invisible Spirit assented. When the invisible Spirit had
assented, It poured upon her a Spirit from the perfection. When her
partner came down to her to put right her deficiencies {her
partner came down to put right their deficiencies},
it was through Pronoia that he willed to put right her deficiencies. She
was not, however, conveyed to her own Aeon, but, because of the great
ignorance which had appeared in her, she dwelled in the Ninth until she
puts right her deficiency.

15
A voice came to her, ‘The Human exists and the Child of the Human.' The
chief ruler Yaldabaoth heard, but he did not think that the voice had come
[from the exalted height above].

The holy, perfect Father, the first Human of human form, taught them about
himself. The Blessed one revealed his likeness to them.

And the whole dominion of the seven authorities bent down.

They saw the pattern of the
image in the water. They said to each other,
'Let us create a human in the image of God and with the likeness.'
They created out of each other and all their powers.

They molded a form out of
themselves and each one of (their) powers created from its power a soul.
They created by imitating the image which they had seen, the image of the
one who exists from the beginning, the perfect Human.

They said, 'Let us give him
the name Adam so that that name and its power might illumine us.' And the
powers began (creating their respective souls) from (the image) below: The
first is Divinity; it is a soul of bone. The second is Christhood/Goodness
{The second is [Lor]dship]};
it is a soul of sinew. The third is Fire; it is a soul of flesh {[The
third is bo]th Christhood/Goodness and Fire, it is a so[ul] of
[fle]sh [and the whole foundation of the b]od[y]}. The
fourth is Pronoia; it is a soul of marrow which is the whole foundation of
the body. The fifth is Kingdom; it is a soul [of blood]. The sixth is
Understanding it is a soul of skin. {The
sixth is [Understanding]; it is a soul of tooth with the whole body.}
The seventh is Wisdom; it is a soul of hair.

And they set the whole body in order.
{And they set the whole human
in order.} And their angels stood
before them. They created a substantial soul out of the things which had
first been prepared by the authorities, the harmony of the joined parts.

17
{And he blew into it from his
spirit, which is the power from the, Mother, out of the Chief Ruler
into the body.} And they created the whole body, which was joined
together by the multitude of angels.

18
And it remained inactive a long time because neither the seven authorities
nor the 360 angels who had forged [the links of the chain] were able to
awaken it.

And (the Mother) wanted to retrieve the power which she had given to the
ruler from (her) audacity. She went in innocence and entreated the Father
of the All, whose mercy is great, and the luminous God. Following a holy
design, he sent Autogenes and his four lights in the shape of angels of
the Chief Ruler. They advised him with the goal of extracting the power of
the Mother from within him.

They said to him, 'Blow into his face from the spirit which is in you and
the object will arise: And he blew into it from his spirit, which is the
power from the Mother, into the body.

And [at that moment] he moved.

Immediately [the rest of the] authorities became jealous because he had
come into being through them all and they had given the powers that
existed within them to the human and he possessed the souls of the seven
authorities and their powers. His wisdom was greater than them all and
greater even than the Chief Ruler. And they knew that he was naked of evil
because he was wiser than they and he had entered into the light. They
lifted him and brought him down into the lowest region of all matter.

But the blessed Father is a merciful benefactor. He had mercy on the
[Mother's] power that had been taken [from] the [Chief] Ruler lest they
might have power over the body. He and his mercy sent the good Spirit as a
helper to the primal one who had gone down, who was named Adam. (His
helper is) the Epinoia of the light, the one whom he named Life.

It is she who labors for the whole creation by toiling with him, by
setting him right in his own perfect temple {[by
setting him] right [in his own] fullness},
and by teaching him about the descent of his deficiency and instructing
him about his ascent.

And the Epinoia of the light was hidden within him so that the rulers
might not know but our sister Sophia, who is like us, would set right her
deficiencies through the Epinoia of the light.

19
And the human shone because of the shadow of the light which is in him.
And his thinking was superior to those who had made him. {And
his thinking was superior to those who had made him and, the [whole]
host of rulers of authorities.}
And they bent down. They saw that the human
was superior to them. They took counsel with the whole angelic host of the
rulers and the rest of their powers. Then they mixed fire and earth with
water and flame. They seized them and the four winds, blowing with fire,
joining them with each other, [making a] great disturbance; they brought
him down into the shadow of death.

Yet again they made another form from earth, water, fire, and spirit which
is from matter, darkness, desire, and the adversarial spirit. This is the
chain. This is the tomb of the molded body with which they clothed the
human, the fetter of the flesh. He is the primal one who came
down and the primal partition. But it is the Thought of the primal light
who dwells in him who awakens his thinking.
{This is the chain. This is
the tomb of the molded body with which the robbers clothed the
human, the chain of oblivion. And in this way, the human become
mortal. This is the primal desc[ent] and his Primal
partition. But it is the Thought of the pre-existent light who
dwells in him who awakens his thinking.}

20 The Chief Ruler
took him and placed him in paradise, of which he said, 'It is [a] delight
for him' but really so that he might deceive him. For their delight is
bitter and their beauty is licentious. Their delight is a deception and
their tree is iniquity. Their fruit is an incurable poison and their
promise is death to him. {For
[their flood was bitter and their [beauty] is licentious. Their
food was a deception and their trees were [iniquity. Their
fruit was an incurable poison] an[d their promise] is [death] to them.
} Their tree which they planted is the tree of life.

For my part, I will teach
you about the mystery of their life. It is their counterfeit spirit which
dwells in them, whose purpose is to make him wander so that he does not
know his perfection.

That tree is of this sort: Its root is bitter. Its branches are shadows of
death. its leaves are hate and deception. Its fragrance is an ointment of
evil. And its fruit is the desire for death. Its seed drinks from darkness
{[an]d
its seed sprouted [from] darkness.}
The dwelling place of those who taste it is
Hades. But the tree which they call 'knowledge of good and evil' is the
Epinoia of the light. Concerning her they commanded, 'Do not taste (of
it),' which means 'do not listen to her.' They issued this commandment
against him so that he might not look up to his per­fection and realize
that he was naked of his perfection.

But as for me, I set them right so that they would eat."

I said to him, "Christ, was it not the serpent who instructed her?"

He laughed and said, "The
serpent is the one who instructed her about the sowing of desire,
pollution, and destruction because they are useful to it. Yet it knew that
she would not obey it because she is wiser than it. {and
[he said], "the serpent appeared to them [. .] sowing of desire,
which is the pollution [...] darkness so that he might be
useful [to it]. [For] it knew [that] he was disobedient to it
because he was [wiser] than it.}

21 And he wanted to bring out the
power which had been given to him. And he cast a trance upon Adam."

I said to him, "Christ, what is the trance?"

He said, "It is not like Moses said that he caused him to sleep but it was
his sensibility that he covered with a shroud. He weighed him down with
insensibility. {"Are
you thinking that it is as Moses said, 'He caused him to sleep'? No, but
it was his sensibility that he covered with insensibility.
} For indeed it is said by the prophet, 'I
will make the ears of their hearts heavy so that they might not understand
and might not see.'

Then the Epinoia of the light hid herself in him.

And according to his will, he wanted to bring her from the rib. But the
Epinoia of the light is ungraspable. The darkness pursued her, but it was
not able to lay hold of her.

He wanted to bring the power from him (Adam) to make another kind of
molded form in a woman's shape.

And he stood her up before
him – not 'He took a rib' as Moses said.

He created the woman beside him.

Immediately he became sober from the drunkenness of the darkness. The
Epinoia of the Light uncovered the shroud from his understanding.
Immediately when he recognized his essence {Immediately
he recognized his fellow essence who is like him}, he
said, `Now this is bone from my bone and flesh from my flesh. Because of
this man will leave his father and his mother and he will cling to his
wife, and from two they will become a single flesh.' For the Mother's
partner will be sent forth and she will be set right{For
the Mother's consort was sent forth to rectify her deficiencies}.
Because of this, Adam named her the mother
of all the living by the authority of the exalted height and the
revelation.

Epinoia taught him about
knowledge. From the tree in the form of an
eagle, she taught him to eat of knowledge so that he might remember his
perfection {[so that they
might] remember their Fullness} for
both were in a fallen state of ignorance.

22 Yaldabaoth knew
that they had withdrawn from him. He cursed them. Moreover, he adds
concerning the female that the male should rule over her for he does not
understand the mystery which came to pass from the design of the Holy
Height. But they were afraid to curse him, thereby revealing his
ignorance. All his angels cast them out of paradise {And
he threw them out of paradise}. He clothed him with a dark
gloom.

Then Yaldabaoth saw the
virgin who stood beside Adam. He was full of senseless folly, desiring to
sow a seed in her. He defiled her.

He begat the first son, Yawe {Yawai} the bear face, and similarly the second, Eloeim the cat face. The
one is righteous, while the other is unrighteous. Eloim is righteous; Yawe
is unrighteous. He set the righteous one over fire and spirit, while (he
set) the unrighteous one over water and earth. Among the generations of
all humanity, these are called Cain and Abel.

Up to the present day,
marital intercourse came about from the Chief Ruler. He planted a desire
for seed in Adam so that from this essence (of desire) a likeness from
their counterfeit spirit might be begotten. {And
to the present day sex[ual intercourse continues, re­maining fro[m]
the Chief Archon. And [He planted] in Adam a seed of desire so that
through this essence their likeness could be begotten through the
counterfeit spirit.} He set two rulers over the
principalities so that they might rule over the tomb. He recognized his
essence which is like him {He
recognized his own lawlessness}.

Adam begot Seth just as it
is in the generation which is above in the aeons. Likewise the Mother sent
what belongs to her {Likewise
they sent to the Mother her own Spirit to awaken those who
are like it}; the Spirit came down to it (the generation) to
awaken the essence that is like it (the Spirit) following the model of the
perfection, to awaken them from forgetfulness and the wickedness of the
tomb.

And it (the Spirit)
remained like this for a while: it labored on behalf of her seed {And
[thus] they re[mained for] a while, while she labored on
behalf of the seed } so that when the Spirit from the holy
aeon should come, it will set right the deficiency by (establishing) the
uprightness of the aeon so that it might become a holy perfection; thus it
would come to pass that there would be no deficiency in it."

23 I said, "Christ,
will the souls of everyone live in the pure light?" {Then
[I] said, Lord, "Will the souls of every one be saved [for the
pu]re light?"}

He said to me, "You have
arrived at an insight of great things such as are difficult to disclose to
any others except those who are from that immovable generation. Those upon
whom the Spirit of the Life descends, having been yoked with the power,
they will be saved and become perfect. And they will be worthy to enter
these realms of the great Lights. For they will be worthy to be purified
there from all evil and the enticements of
wickedness. {And they will
be worthy of these great Lights. For there they are purified from all
wickedness and the chains of evil.}

For they do not give themselves to anything
else except this incorruptible congregation and they attend to it without
anger or envy or fear or desire or overindulgence. They are not restrained
by any of these nor by anything else in them except only the flesh {and
they attend to it without anger or envy or jealousy or desire or
overindulgence. They are not restrained [by] any of these (except only the
flesh] } to which they are subject while they are waiting fervently
for (the time) when they will be brought forth and those who receive
(them) will admit them into the honor of the imperishable eternal life and
the calling, enduring all things, bearing all things so that they might
complete the contest and inherit eternal life.”

I said, "Christ, what will the souls do, upon whom the power and the
Spirit of Life descended but who did not do these things, in order that
they might also be saved?" {And I
said to him, Lord, "Where are the souls of those who do not do these
things or where will those go into whom the Spirit of Life and the power
entered? Will they be saved or not?}

He said to me, "Those upon whom that Spirit comes will live in any case
and come out from evil. {He
said to, "Those into whom the Spirit of Life enters will be
saved in any case, these ones flee from evil."}
For the power enters into every human
being—for without it, it is not possible for them to stand upright. After
it (the soul) is born, then the Spirit of Life is brought to it. If the
powerful Spirit of Life comes, it strengthens the power, which is the
soul, and it is not led astray into wickedness. {After
the human is born, the Spirit of Life brings the counter­feit spirits.
If the Spirit of Life [comes], since it is strong, it
[str]engthens [the soul], which is the power, and it is not led astray
into wickedness.} But those into whom
the counterfeit spirit enters are drawn by it and they are led astray."

I said, "Christ, {I said, Lord,}
when the souls [of those] leave the flesh, where will they go?"

He laughed and said to me, "To a place of the soul, which is the power
that is greater than the counterfeit spirit. This (soul) is powerful.
It flees from
the works of wickedness and it is saved by theincorruptible
oversight and brought up to the repose of the aeons."

I said, "Christ, {I
said, "Lord, } what about those who do not know the All—what are
their souls or where will they go?"

He said to me, "In those, a
counterfeit spirit proliferated by causing them to stumble. {He
said to me, "It is these that the counterfeit spirit has burdened when
they stumbled.} And in that way he burdens their soul and
draws it into works of wickedness, and he leads it into forgetfulness.
After it has become naked in this way, he hands it over to the authorities
who came into being from the Ruler. And
again they cast them into fetters. {And
in this way after becoming [na]ked of the body, they are handed
over to the authorities who came into being through the Ruler. Again [they
cast] them into (bodily) parts.}
And they consort with them until they are
saved from forgetfulness and it receives some knowledge. And in this way,
it becomes perfect and is saved."

I said, "Christ, how does the soul become smaller and enter again into the
nature of the mother or the human?"

He rejoiced when I asked this, and he said, "Blessed are you for paying
close attention! Because of this they submit themselves to another who has
the Spirit of Life in it. By following and obeying him, it is saved, and
of course it does not enter another flesh."

I said to him, "Christ, where are the souls of those who understood but
turned away?" {I
said, "Lord, those who did understand yet they turned back, where are
their souls or where will they withdraw?"}

He said to me, "Those to whom repentance did not come will go to the place
to which the angels of poverty will withdraw. And they will be guarded for
the day when all those who blasphemed against the holy Spirit will be
punished. They will be tortured in eternal punishment." {And
[they] will be guarded for the day when all those who blasphemed against
the holy Spirit with an eter[nal blasphemy] will be pun­ished.}

24 I said, "Christ,
where did the counterfeit spirit come from?''

He said to me, "(It all began) when the Mother whose mercy is great and
the holy Spirit, the compassionate, who troubles herself with us—the seed
that is, the Epinoia of the light awakened the thinking of human beings of
the generation of the eternal, luminous, perfect Human. Then the Chief
Ruler knew that they surpassed him in the excellence of their wisdom. He
wanted to restrict their plan for he was ignorant. He did not understand
[that] they were wiser than he. He made a plan with his powers. {He
made a plan and begot Fate.}

They begot Fate
and they bound the gods of heaven and angels
and demons and human beings with measures and seasons and times in order
to keep them all in its fetter—for it was lord over them all.

He had a wicked and perverted thought, and he had regrets about all the
things which had come into being through him. He planned to bring a flood
over the whole erection of humanity.

And the greatness of Pronoia, who is the Epinoia of light, instructed
Noah. {And
the greatness of Pronoia produced a Thought, which is Epinoia.
She appeared to [Noah].} He
preached to people, but they did not believe him. It is not like Moses
said, that he hid himself in an ark, but she sheltered him somewhere not
Noah more (than others) but also some people from the immovable
generation.

They entered a place. They were sheltered by a luminous cloud. And he
recognized his sovereignty along with those who were with him in the light
which illumined them, {And
they recognized the sovereignty above [an]d those who
were with him when the light illumined them}
for darkness flowed out over everything upon
the earth.

25 He made a plan
with his angels. Their angels were sent to the daughters of men
so that they might raise offspring from
them, to be a respite for them. But at first they did not succeed. They
all came together to make a plan to create the counterfeit spirit—for they
remembered the Spirit which had descended.

And the angels altered
their appearance into the likeness of their husbands and their 'husbands'
sated them with the spirit, which molested them in the darkness out of
wickedness.

"They brought them gold, silver, gifts, and metals of copper, iron, and
every sort. They beguiled them into temptation {And
they [be]guiled them into distractions}so that they would not remember their immovable Pronoia.

They took them and begot
children out of darkness through their counterfeit spirit. It closed their
hearts. They became hard by the hardening of the counterfeit spirit until
now.

26
So again the blessed Mother Father, whose mercy is great, takes form in
her seed.

27
First I went up to this perfect aeon. And it is to you ( John) that
I speak these things so that you might write them down and give them in
secret to your fellow spirits. For this mystery belongs to the immovable
generation.

The Mother had come another time before me. These are also the things
which she did in the world. She set her seed upright
{She
was [rectifying] her deficiency.}
I will teach you about what will happen. For
indeed I gave these things to you so that you might write them down and
keep them secure."

Then he said to me, "Cursed be anyone who
will exchange these things for a gift, whether for food or drink or
clothing or anything else like these." {Then
he said to me, "[Cur]sed be every one who will give these in exchange for
a gift, whether silver or [gold or] in exchange for drink or
for [things to] eat or clothing or anything else like these.}

He handed over this mystery to him. Immediately he disappeared from him.

And he ( John) went to his fellow disciples. He began telling them about
the things which had been said to him by the Savior.

The Secret Revelation of John.

Based on the
translations in:Michael Waldstein and Frederik Wisse,
The Apocryphon of John: Synopsis of Nag Hammadi Codices II,1;III,1; And
IV,1 With BG 8502,2 ,
Brill Academic Pub, 1995